(I was pleased to find out, just before Christmas, that I’ve been selected as one of the Fisher-Price Canadian mom bloggers for 2012. What follows is my first post as part of this program. Over the course of the year, there’ll be Fisher-Price giveaways and further content. Stay tuned.)
Since the kids went back to school this month, it’s just been me and them during the day. No more lovely nanny to entertain and shuttle the older kids around while I coo over the baby. No time to coo! Hurry up! Get your snowpants on! Get your boots off! Where are your mitts? Let’s go, we don’t want to be late!
I have my mornings with Callum and Charlie after we drop Oliver at school, and to be honest, I haven’t necessarily been the best at entertaining Callum so far. If Charlie is asleep, I’ll let him (Callum, obviously) pick what we are going to do to occupy our time. He often selects board games, which we play on the floor of the family room while I sip my coffee. And the whole time I’m thinking about what I should be doing instead – tidying, unpacking (yes, STILL), sorting, whatever. Sometimes we manage to do a chore where Callum can help me, like put laundry away. Yes, I’m evil.
I admit, I will turn on the cartoons if I need to feed Charlie. Callum really isn’t into playing independently yet and he wants to talk to me and hang out with us while I’m stuck sitting down.
After school, if I can drag the kids away from the playground despite the frigid temperatures, we return home to a warm house and, normally, a sleeping baby. They usually immediately run to the playroom together to build some sort of contraption or start role-playing some undercover cops-and-robbers-type scenario. Sometimes the three of us bake together. Sometimes we collectively do Oliver’s homework (since Callum can’t resist trying to spell W-H-O and W-H-A-T or counting by fives). Usually I am trying to tidy something up or cook while this is happening.
The best of all, of course, is when the kids manage to have a playdate at someone else’s house. Even hosting a playdate makes life easier – the novelty of a new kid to show their toy collection to has not worn off yet.
As I thought about this post, I pondered all the things that we could be doing together that we aren’t. I don’t have a stash of arts & crafts (and oh, leaving them alone with anything normally ends up in utter destruction) and I’m not really coming up with a lot of creative activities other than ‘you guys go play while I start dinner’.
Thankfully, Fisher-Price is there to help with ideas for Play and Learn Family Activities on their website. It looks like there’s some great suggestions for all of my kids, up to Oliver’s age. I need to build up an arsenal of ideas. This is my challenge this winter – keep the kids happy (with all three at different developmental stages) and keep myself sane. How about you? Got any brilliant indoor play ideas that factor in different ages and stages?
Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Mom and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
In internet lore, if you blog about how your baby is doing something wonderful like (a) sleeping through the night; (b) breastfeeding without any difficulty whatsoever; (c) using the toilet by the age of one — or whatever excellent thing your baby is so much better at than everyone else’s baby, it is known that your baby will forthwith cease this behaviour and do the exact opposite just to screw with your mind.
So forgive me when I realize that I have barely posted about Charlie the wonder baby, who is now 2.5-gosh-almost-3 months old. Don’t ask me how many weeks. I’m supposed to know but I have no idea.
See, I don’t want to tell you how awesome he is, because he’ll turn evil.
I don’t want to tell you that I’m not really sleep deprived, and haven’t been since he was born, since I’ll be up all night, cursed (well, that’s likely coming anyway, since we’re about to totally mess him up with a 5 hour time change on a trip to the UK).
I don’t want to tell you that this kid has been my most successful breastfeeding experience – not perfect (what’s perfect anyway?), but definitely much better than the other two.
I don’t want to tell you about how accommodating he’s been, being hauled around wherever we need to go – how he always falls asleep on each walk to and from the school.
I don’t want to tell you about his awesome smile and coos and funny sounds.
I know this could all change at any point. I know this could all go pear-shaped and I could lose my mind. I still feel a bit like I’m just waiting for it to happen. But, for now, this baby wrangling thing is going very well. And I’m doing much better dealing with this maternity leave than I did with the other two. Which is kind of surprising to me (you may remember I was freaking out about this a few months ago). But I’m very, very thankful.
Be kind to me, internet fates. I don’t want an evil baby.
Almost two weeks ago, there were half a dozen pirates running around my house, jumping and leaping and ‘arrrgh’-ing. And there was Oliver, giving them orders as to what was happening next. “Ok guys, guys, it’s time for cake now!” “Ok, everyone be quiet! I’m going to open my gifts!”
His confidence in social situations boggles my mind. He walks into the school yard and has no problem talking up older kids he doesn’t really know. That is not me. By a long shot. I hide in my phone or coo at the baby so I don’t have to talk to their parents. The shyness gene got passed to Callum and by-passed Oliver completely. I am glad for him.
Other than that personality feature, he is very much like me. Too much, sometimes. We clash. I suspect him of doing things that I know I would have done when I was little. Often, I am correct.
He tests my patience, he gets up to no good all the time, he talks back, he still has a tantrum-y breakdown if he doesn’t really like what we have to say. He can be completely exhausting.
He loves his brothers passionately, he easily takes his imagination and runs with it, he asks very intelligent questions, he’s always thinking, he’s reading and reading and learning to write properly and asked me to quiz him on multiplication earlier, he can’t stop moving and running and jumping and dancing and singing. He sleeps deeply after every exhausting day.
His head on my shoulder, the weight of his body against me, warm and soft. I’ve got to get that tummy settled before I lay him down.
I squint at the news or chuckle at something funny, quietly. I often think to myself that I should record the voice of Peter Mansbridge or Jon Stewart as they might forever be his sleep cues.
I put him down beside me and his eyelids drop in the flickering darkness.
Eventually I too drift off, and will wake up at some point to turn off the television, fumbling for the remote.
Otherwise we sleep soundly, warmly.
I know I could put him to bed in his crib earlier but I’ve never even tried to. I know I ‘should’ be letting him sleep on his own. But I’m savouring these moments like I never did before, knowing that he’s definitely the last baby. Co-sleeping seemed like a necessary evil with the other two – the one thing that got them to sleep a decent amount of time at night. This time, it’s my indulgence. I’m being selfish.
Sometimes I just lay there and gaze at him for a while. He’s wondrous.
The days revolve around everyone else – he gets schlepped to and from school, he gets taken to run errands, he gets ignored so I can cook dinner/read a book/whatever. But the nights are ours. My nights are his. It’s almost too bad that we spend most of it sleeping.
There was a trending topic on twitter the other night, something like #2011in3words, and I briefly pondered using the hashtag and summarizing my own year in a few words. And then I realized it was totally impossible because just way, way too much stuff happened this year. We managed to cram a lot in.
In January, I had 16 days to myself when the rest of the family went to the UK. That was good. Next month, I’m not getting out of the trip, kind of unfortunately.
In February, my paternal grandmother died. I’m really going to feel her absence when I’m in England. We also had a lot going on as interest in our house that was for sale heated up.
In March, we went to Cuba. That was good. Except for the part where I couldn’t drink any mojitos. But I didn’t tell you that at the time.
By April, we had sold our house (a pretty damn big deal), we mommed the vote (a big deal in a different way), and there was that little Royal Wedding for which I threw a big party at work. Fun!
In May we bought our new house and I shared the news that baby number 3 was on the way. It’s still sort of shocking that we decided consciously to do that. Have another kid, I mean. Not that we decided to share the news. Seriously – buying and selling houses and having another bab?! This year was epic.
In June I was so boggled by that epicness that I only wrote one post.
In July, school was over, the summer started, I turned 34, and we had to pack up all our earthly belongings and move house. Oh, that was traumatic.
In August, I attempted to unpack and set up house while the family went to England again. We found a nanny after I spent a couple of weeks just hanging out with the kids before school started.
The month of September started off with a big family party in Ottawa for my maternal grandmother’s 90th birthday. And then school started so the boys really began to get integrated into our new neighbourhood.
The baby was due at the end of October, but he didn’t turn up. I spent the month writing a lot of sponsored posts!
Instead, Charlie arrived in November. Callum turned 4. I spent most of the month recovering from both events.
This last month, December, has been fairly quiet, both on the blog and in real life. Well, we deserve it after that year, right? Quie, that is, barring both Christmas day, and today, Oliver’s 6th birthday (more on that later).
My wishes for 2012? Less epicness. No babies and house moves, as great as those decisions were. More quiet. Or at least relative calm. I’ll be spending most of it trying to figure out how to parent 3 kids full time before I go back to work in the last third.
2011 wasn’t the greatest year in terms of this blog – I did have a few things going on that took me away from this space. Although I don’t really do resolutions, this blog is important to me, and I pledge to find the time to write more regularly. Thank you for reading, whether that’s regularly, or you just happened to click randomly.
Some of you got a Christmas card from me. Some of you should have, but won’t (uh, I’m a little scattered this year). Some of you shouldn’t, but will…hang on. No, wait, I don’t send cards to people I don’t like! What I’m trying to say is:
Happy holidays. Have a good one, whatever you are celebrating, or not. We’re spending some low key time with my family, and then celebrating a couple of birthdays before the new year. All the best for 2012.
As one of the Hallmark Press Pause panel bloggers, I have been sent various Hallmark products over the last couple of years. I have to say that the Christmas/holiday themed items are always a family favourite.
The kids have enjoyed having Jingle the Husky Pup bark along with his story. The set, with the book and the toy, would make a great last minute gift if you still need a kiddie present.
Want to know what’s probably the most annoying thing that has entered my house this year, but the kids adore it? The Merry Okee microphone. Listen to Callum elf himself in the first part of this video (the second part, he decided to recite his kindergarten holiday concert performance, which was handy, ’cause I had no idea what the kids said yesterday).
Don’t tell my dad, but we’re bringing him the Rockin’ Talkin’ Elf hat tomorrow. A hat that dances and sings and jingles. If you knew my dad, you’d know we were giving it to the perfect weirdo person.
The older boys recorded a Christmas greeting for their baby brother on the Make-A-Wish Recordable Bear. Cute, right?
Of all the products that Hallmark sells, however, I have to say that the recordable books are my favourite. Last year’s book, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, was sent to England for Mark’s mum to read out to the boys. This year, they get to hear her from afar. Last month I was sent a recordable Charlie Brown Christmas book, so this time I asked my own mother to record it. She’s not as far, but she still doesn’t see the boys as much as either of them would like. So they can also have her voice for the holidays.
If you still need to buy greeting cards (like I did the other day – inevitably I almost forgot about how many people in my life have December birthdays! You know, like my husband. And oldest child. And closest friend.), you can pop into Hallmark, find those, and pick up any last minute gifts you might need.
Disclosure: I received this products from Hallmark. I was not compensated in any other way. My views are my own.
I look up at the staircase with a sense of dread. Groan. I have to make it all the way up there? And then I suddenly remember that my body works again. I lift my knees and propel forward with so much more ease than I did just weeks ago. I feel gloriously unencumbered. There is still a novelty in being able to move properly. To bend at the waist is divine. I keep forgetting I can; I keep asking the kids to pick things up off of the floor. Well, they should anyway, those messy little buggers. But I too can collect debris off of the floor.
I’m smaller now than I was when I got pregnant. Which is like the reverse of what happens to most people but apparently this body works in opposites. I put on weight when not pregnant; I lose weight while pregnant. Technically my weight remained constant for 9 months, despite growing an almost 10 pound baby and the assorted accoutrement that comes with a baby (like a placenta and giant water-filled cankles). So once the baby popped out, there went like 30 pounds or so in a nano second. How bizarre.
Callum tells me my tummy is still big. Kid, you have no idea how much smaller it is. I’m not taking it personally.
I’ve always thought I should be a surrogate. If I just kept getting pregnant, I could practically be skinny. And I could give other people babies, if they need some help getting their own. I don’t want all the babies here. Infants are terrifying (she says, as she cares for one). I think this is definitely enough. More than enough, probably.
I gave all my maternity clothes away this morning, every last piece of them. I feel like some sort of weight left the house with those three large bags of clothes, like something was hanging over me. Goodbye, pregnancy. Godspeed.
My ankles came back about a week after Charlie was born. I’ve never been so happy to see a part of my body again – probably more than my stomach. I had no problem finding clothes that fit the bump. I had a terrible time finding shoes that fit my swollen feet and ankles. I wore Birkenstocks for almost the entire pregnancy. I think I might burn them. I just need to find a fire to throw them into.
My gall bladder has not acted up again since the night after he was born. I have no reason to assume it will get evil again, but I probably should remember that they told me I need to have it out. The idea of surgery, even day surgery, just terrifies me.
This body has a lap to hold babies and big kids. It feeds a baby, and comforts it. It’s about to do the school run and get frozen in the playground. Today it’s fueled by coffee and muffins brought by a friend and leftover turkey meatball pasta. Keep going, body. Let’s go.
(people, this post is not sponsored in any way, shape or form) (of course, if Lego ever wanted to talk sponsorship, I’m here, waiting, stepping on mini figures as we speak)
I just found this note on the playroom floor.
DEr SaNtA (Dear Santa)
I HAV BiN gooD (I have been good)
ALL The Tim (all the time)
CAN I HAV TOYS (can I have toys)
Lego SiDe (Lego City)
PoLieS BeT (Police Boat)
Lego SPAShiPS (Lego Spaceships)
Lego NiNjogo (Lego Ninjago)
Yes, this is a boy learning to write through sounding things out. Not too bad. Could be worse.
It’s a good thing there’s so many boxes of Lego currently hidden in this house that we can’t keep track of them. Literally. We opened a box of stored gifts (we pick up things on sale during the year) and lo, there were two Lego Star Wars boxes Mark had completely forgotten about.
This year, for Christmas and his birthday a week later, Oliver will be getting lots of Lego. (Thankfully he can’t really read my blog yet.)
On a previous list – not a letter to Santa, but a list of things he liked copied out from some toy catalogues – he’d also included the Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar. A lovely friend was generous enough to buy this for the boys as a new baby gift. As in, leave the damn baby alone and go play with your Lego. So helpful, I can’t even tell you.
He’d also included a Hex Bug, so I bought him one for his stocking the other day at Chapters (yay for coupons).
Callum keeps looking at the Hot Wheel Wall Tracks sets and saying “why did no one get me this for my birfday?”. Despite his ugly ingratitude, he will be receiving some from my mother. As well as Duplo and some board games from us, and a few other bits and pieces.
Charlie, poor kid, is getting nothing from us. Other than the essentials of life, of course. This is what happens when you’re 2 months old for Christmas. Better luck next year. Although, being my most well-behaved child recently, he should be presented with buckets of silver and gold. Sorry, kid.
I’m not anywhere near done my shopping this year, except for Oliver. Usually I’m much more organized. I’m not quite sure when it’s going to happen, but I’d like to spend some more time at Chapters, perhaps some at Winners, and I’ll definitely pick the boys up some pajamas from Old Navy like I do every year. I’ve also got to tackle gifts for my own family, sadly primarily consisting of gift cards. I do try to put some actual thought into my gift-giving, normally, so I will try to improve upon the coldness of a gift card with a few other bits and pieces.
For teacher gifts, I think I’m going to do some charitable giving and something nibbly to go with it, either home-baked or purchased. Okay, let’s get real, I will probably buy it.
What about you? What is Santa/other pretend person/regular human beings bringing for your kids and families this year? I might steal some of your ideas. There are still, what, 17 shopping days left? I don’t quite need to panic yet. Yet.
This was on the back of Oliver’s Santa letter. Poor Santa has one giant foot and an evil looking beard. I hope this doesn’t impair his ability to deliver this Christmas.
I’ve written so many great blog posts lately. Like, proper posts. With proper words and grammar (she says, not using proper grammar in this post). Thoughtful posts. Unfortunately, I’ve written them in my head, late at night. And they’ve stayed there.
Blame him. His fault. Always with the wanting attention! Always with the hungry and the crying and the changing.
Well, I may have a part to play in this crime. I might hold him a little too long. I might stare at him when he’s sleeping just to make sure he really is asleep. I might be getting some things done other than blogging. Like unpacking my clothes, a mere four months after we moved here (my defense is that I couldn’t actually wear most of them around the bump, but now I can – hurrah).
But I’ll be back. The words are there. I just need a bit longer to set things up so I can get them out onto the keyboard again, more than in 140-character bursts.
Postscript on the last post: I’m fine; I was just venting. After I wrote that, our nanny was sick for 2 days and I managed to get the kids to school while juggling the baby and everything else. I have actually extended the nanny for a couple more weeks, on at least a part time basis (we’re discussing it right now, so her last day isn’t tomorrow after all). And Mark has a good chunk of time off for the holidays in December/January. So the real juggle will start in January and hopefully we’ll be more ready to take on the world at that point. Hopefully.
